With Flying Colors: ‘Butterflies’ by Van Cleef & Arpels
For more than a century, nature has been a cherished muse of French maison, Van Cleef & Arpels. One constant inspiration is the butterfly – a metaphor for beauty and ephemerality. Scroll below for selected works of shimmering elegance captured in butterfly creations by Van Cleef & Arpels from the 1930s to the present time.
Left: product card of a butterfly clip, 1937; Right: product card of a butterfly clip, 1945.Night butterfly clip, 1966. Lapis lazuli, yellow gold, diamonds.Butterfly clip, 1971, yellow gold and wood.Butterfly clip, 1955, yellow and white gold, enamel, diamonds.Butterfly clip, 1981. Yellow gold, onyx, diamonds.Spotted butterfly clip, 1975, yellow gold, onyx, coral, diamonds.Papillon butterfly clip, 2013. White and yellow gold, yellow sapphires, amethysts, onyx, diamonds.Lacquered butterfly clip Sakura, 2012. White gold, white mother-of-pearl, diamonds.Nishiki butterfly clip, 2012. White gold, lacquer, mother-of-pearl, diamonds.Jasper butterfly clip, 2015. White gold, cut ruby of 1.5 carats, sapphires, black spinels, diamonds.Rosace butterfly clip, 2016. Pink, white and red gold set with rubies, spessartite garnets, pink tourmalines, rubies, bull’s eye, diamonds.Crespuscule butterfly clip, 1998. Lapis Lazuli, yellow gold, diamonds.Drawing featuring a butterfly necklace, circa 1980.
